The Sins of Seattle's Fathers
by Lena7623
Summary: This is the story of the trials and tribulations of a new vampire named Sarah, and the two vampire made at the same time as her.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This is a Vampire: The Masqueraide RPG that I played in about two years ago during my freshman year of college. I have permission from everyone to use these characters. Later, as I get into it, I will pick up where the ST left off, since I got him to tell me all of the "secrets" of Seattle. The story is written in a conversational tone b/c it's mostly suppose to be Sarah's thoughts, and the language will improve as she ages. I know the tone annoys some people, but I like it and I think it fits.

Chapter 1

That day started out like any other spring day. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and everything seemed pretty and alive. Sure, in Seattle, it usually rains, but today it was sunny, so that day was what a late-March spring day should be. Maybe if I had understood that it would be my last day in the sun, I may have lied out in the grass and enjoyed it more. Maybe I would have woken up for the sunrise. I know I would have paid attention to the sunset. I would have sat on a bench and watched all of the color changes: from yellow, to orange, to pink, to red, then to purple and blue to the black of night. I miss sunsets. I also miss tanning in the warm sun.

Sorry…my mind wandered for a second. Sometimes it is hard to concentrate. It happens a lot more nowadays than it use to.

However, as I said before, the day was like any other. I had my college classes in the morning. I was a creative writing major, but not for any good reason, just because I was not planning to do anything with it, quite honestly. I was a good writer, but I was not planning on working when I got married. I wanted to be a homemaker like my mother was. I only went to college because it was what a good girl did. I was a cheerleader, and I had a football player as a boyfriend. We were going to get married as soon as we graduated from college in a big Catholic wedding, and I would loose my virginity on our wedding night. Good girls wait. We would have six children, as my parents did. We would grow old together. We would die together. I had this stuff mapped out.

Becoming a "creature of the night" kind of blew all of those plans out of the water.

I only now realize I was following the "good girl" path because I thought that I was suppose to. At the time, I thought that it was who I was. Whom am I kidding? I did not actually thing all that much. Most of what went through my head was cheerleading routines, clothes, and how my hair looked. I am major embarrassed by this now.

I have gotten this far and I have not even introduced myself. Sorry, but I forget. My name is Sarah Catherine. I was a Catholic schoolgirl that was actually innocent. I had a family: parents, three brothers, and two sisters. One brother lived in Portland with his wife and newborn son and the rest lived with my parents still. I had a boyfriend. I thought I loved him, but now I think that maybe, since we had been together for so long, that I was just use to him. I had known nothing else. Maybe that is why I did what I did that night.

I should stop being so emo and move on with telling you about the last day of my life.

I went to cheerleader practice that afternoon after my classes were done. My friends Kelly and Janice always made fun of me for being the "good girl" of our circle. (See a pattern here?) Apparently, being with some guy for five years and never getting past first or second base is weird and unnatural. I also may have had about five or six alcoholic drinks in my college career. This was also weird and unnatural.

The three of us were doing our stretches while talking about how…good I was. Kelly and Janice pick on me about once a week about this. We had about ten minutes before practice started, so we needed to pass the time before actual jumping and screaming started.

"It is very cute that you abide by all of the rules," Kelly said, "but it is every girl's right to cut loose at least once before marriage. You are getting married next summer, right?"

I stopped doing my stretches and looked up at her. (I am five foot even, so I look up to everyone.) "Yeah…, why?"

"I've got an idea," Kelly said. "Let's ditch the rest of practice, get dressed up, and go out tonight. No holds bar girl's night out."

"Yeah, it could be like a batchelorette party!" Janice exclaimed. "Collin would not even know about it. Whatever happens to us stays with us."

"Are you sure that you will not tell him if I get so drunk that I get sick?" I asked, thinking that _this_ could be the worst thing that would happen to me.

Janice giggled and held up three fingers to make the Girl Scout sign. "On my honor." Kelly did the same thing. "But we've got to fix you up ourselves."

"What's wrong with the way I dress?" I asked.

"It's not that you aren't gorgeous," Kelly said, "but you dress a little…how do I put this…conservative. I've got the perfect dress for you."

So, we snuck out and scampered off to our dorm room "we split a three-person dorm room) and Kelly threw a pile of clothes at me from the bottom of her closet. After about an hour of trying on more dresses than I have ever owned in my life, we settled on a spaghetti-strap black lace dress that hit about three inches above my knees. (It was much shorter on Kelly, but she is much taller than I am.) It was also somewhat looser than it was suppose to fit.

"She looks like a flapper," Janice said.

"No, her breasts are too big to be a flapper," Kelly commented.

"I'm only a B!" I shouted, covering my chest, embarrassed.

"But on your petite little body, they look much bigger. You are going to have to go without a bra, though," Kelly said. "That the best dress I have, so do not spill anything on it." She then walked behind me and picked at my hair. "Now, what should we do with all of this hair?"

I have long, curly blond hair. It is really thick and it reaches about mid-back. I usually just let it hang down or pull it up in a ponytail.

"We should just leave it down," Janice said. "Guys find her hair hot."

"Why should I care whether or not a guy thinks that my hair is hot?" I asked.

"Free drinks," Kelly said quickly.

"Don't guys usually want something if they buy you a drink?" I asked.

Kelly and Janice start to laugh hysterically. "You really are that naïve, aren't you?" Janice asked. I just stare at her, more confused that ever.

Now I am just wondering why I _ever_ agreed to do this.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Janice and Kelly finished helping me get ready, which mostly consisted of six inch spiked heels (there was a lot of practice), more makeup than I have ever worn in my life, and basically making me look like a different person. They decided to go out to a club called "Toi." It is your basic dance club, with a dance floor that lights up and lots of good, danceable music. I had been there plenty of times before with them, but I usually went as the designated driver. I always did a lot of dancing, though. Tonight, we were taking a cab. No designated driver was needed.

When we got there, it was packed, which was weird for a Thursday night. It was not packed to the point that you could not get out onto the dance floor, but still very busy. For our purposes, no one we knew was there to recognize us.

I was quickly ushered to the bar by Kelly. "What'll it be, miss?" the bartender asked me.

"Uh…I will have a Cosmopolitan?" I asked, reciting the name of a drink that I saw on _Sex and the City_ on HBO last Sunday.

The bartender arched his eyebrow at me, and then reached under the bar to pull out a Bartender's Manuel, presumably to look up the drink recipe. He managed to make me a drink that looked like Carrie's on TV, but I have no idea what was in it.

I tasted it, and it was sweet with the slight aftertaste of alcohol, but it was not that bad. I drank it down quickly and felt a little less dumb about my situation. I then went out to the dance floor, where I fit in much better. The next few hours went like this: dance to four or five songs, leave to buy and down a drink, and repeat as necessary. I am sure I sweated a lot of the alcohol out, but I was still very "relaxed" by about midnight or so.

Around midnight, I went to the bar to rest for a bit. I got some water so that the bartender would leave me alone, and I felt someone looking at me. It was not in a creepy stalker sort of way, but in a good, appreciating how hot I look way. I looked in the mirror behind the bartender to get a peek at whoever was looking at me, and I was impressed. If Kelly saw the person who was coming towards me, she would have said, "Hot guy, five o'clock." (No, I do not know what that means.)

He looked _a lot_ like Johnny Depp, with dark skin, brown eyes, and straight brown hair that brushed his shoulders. He had a well-built body without being all muscles and scary. He had tattoos sticking out of his sleeves, but they were not biker tattoos. I think they might have been religious, but I do not know.

Before tonight, I never would have gone for him. I never would have thought to. If I had seen him, I would have ran and found one of my friends or even Collin and hid. Tonight, however, I was feeling bold. Maybe it was my mission to have a good time with no consequences. Maybe it was because he was hot. Maybe it was the four or six Cosmos in me. Kelly always says, "Carpe Diem." I think that it means do what you want in Spanish.

So, instead of running away and finding Janice or Kelly, I carpe diemed. I spun around on the bar stool just as he was about a foot from me. Unfortunately, I spun too fast and almost fell off the side, but he reached out and caught me just in time.

"Awesome reflexes!" I exclaimed, immediately feeling like an idiot.

"It's my pleasure," he replied. His hands were on my arms, and his touch made me shiver. I heard a faint accent in his voice; maybe it was Russian. "Now that we're acquainted, maybe we should introduce ourselves."

I smiled at him. "My name's Sarah," I said, sticking out my hand.

"Andrei," he said and shook my hand. He helped me off the barstool. "Can I buy you another drink?"

I looked him in his eyes. "Sure." He flagged down the bartender and ordered me another drink. He also ordered something I didn't recognize for himself.

"Do you go to one of the colleges in Seattle? You look familiar," he said, looking me over.

"I'm a cheerleader at Seattle University," I told him.

"That must be where I've seen you! I go there as well," he told me. "So, would you like to dance?"

I said yes, quickly finishing off my drink and allowing him to lead me to the dance floor. He was a good dancer; he was much better than Collin ever was. Collin usually will not even go out onto the dance floor with me. I usually ended up dancing with one of my girlfriends.

After a few dances, I told him that I needed to sit down because…well, I was kind of dizzy. I was probably from all of the drinks that I had had. It was kind of fun, though, like a ride. It wasn't scary like the stupid films that the teachers always showed in school.

We sat back down at the bar. I lifted my hair off my neck to try to cool off. Andrei leaned in from behind and said in my ear, "I know of a club across town that I think you would enjoy. Would you like to go with me?"

Carpe Diem, indeed.

"Sure, just let me tell one of my friends so they don't worry about me," I told him and hopped off the bar stool to find either Kelly or Janice. I scanned the room for them. I didn't see Kelly anywhere, but I caught Janice on the dance floor.

I ran up to her and pulled her off the dance floor. "Janice, I'm about to go to another club with someone," I said, pointing to Andrei at the bar. "I didn't want you to worry when you couldn't find me."

Janice looked where I pointed. "He's cute," she said. "Are you taking our advice to heart?"

"Well, carpe diem," I said and giggled.

"Seize the day is right," Janice said. "I'd seize him all night long if I were you."

"Is that what carpe diem means? 'Seize the day?' I thought it meant 'do what you want' or something," I said.

"Yeah, I think it's Greek or something," Janice replied. "Oh well. Party tonight, learn tomorrow. Just call if you're going to be all night." With that, she ran back to the dance floor, grabbing some random dude, and started dancing again.

I ran back to Andrei and said, "Let's go." He led me outside of the club and to his car, which was some red expensive car that I do not know the name of. Very impressive, though. We both got into the car, and, before he started it, pulled a small box out of his shirt pocket, took a pill out of it, and put it in his mouth. I think that it was ecstasy. I have seen Kelly take it once or twice, but I had never done it before.

"Would you like one?" he asked.

'Seize the day' does fit a lot better.

"Sure," I replied. He took another pill out of the box and gestured for me to open my mouth. I opened it and he placed it in my mouth. I closed my mouth and swallowed it while he started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

On the way to the club, we chatted while he drove. I found out that he was Russian (his parents immigrated to the U.S.), he was twenty-three years old, he went to school part-time, and he was a courier. (I pretended to know what that meant.)

We arrived at the club pretty quickly. (My mother would say that he drove like a bat out of hell) The name of the club was "The Clink." We went inside, and it was kind of…dirtier than Toi. However, it was cool because tonight was the night for new experiences, and dirty can be really, really run.

He took me out to the dance floor, and out dancing this time was…better fitting to the club. Now I had no one that knew me or could scold me (or cheer me on) about my behavior later, so…I was dirtier myself. I did my best Christina Aguilera. I think I did very well.

After a bit, Andrei spun me around so that I was facing away from him. He pulled me in close so that my back was against his chest. He leaned in closer and started to nibble on my earlobe.

Collin had **_NEVER_** done **_THAT _**before!!! With that, there had gone my last bit of willpower, and conscious thought. "They have rooms in the back of the club," Andrei whispered in my ear. "Private rooms. Would you like to get one?"

It was like my conscious had run away and stopped telling me that I shouldn't be doing something. I thought that I had felt lust before (you date someone for so long and you get a lot of narrow escapes), but I had never felt anything like this. I wasn't even formed thoughts anymore; it was just this writhing **NEED** that needed to be fulfilled or I would snap.

We went to the bar and Andrei talked to the bartender for a moment. Money was exchanged and Andrei was given a key with a room number on it. Andrei placed him hand on the small of my back and led me towards a door behind the bar. We went through it and he led me down a hall with a series of doors. Near the end of the hall, he found the door with the matching key number and unlocked it.

I walked through the door first and looked around the room. I was painted a deep red, and the only furniture in the room was a long, black leather couch. I was at least expecting a bed, but whatever.

I sat down on the couch and took m first look at Andrei in real lighting. He wasn't quite as dark as I initially thought. As he took off his shirt, he was facing away from me so I could see his tattoos on his back and shoulders. It was all writing, but was in some language that I had never seen before.

"Um…Andrei, what do your tattoos mean?" I asked him.

He came and sat down next to me on the couch and began to explain what his tattoos symbolized. I remember him telling me about how they were written in Sanskrit and they had to do with his religion I can't remember too much else, unfortunately, because of all the alcohol, drugs, and just the situation greatly encouraged me to make a move.

I began to kiss him lightly on his neck, and he started to trip over his words until he finally stopped talking. He turned towards me, leaned in to me, and began to really kiss me. He did it softly at first, running his hands through my hair and pulling me close to him. Quickly though, we got more…into it. He started to nibble on my bottom lip a bit, and went from just trailing my fingers down him back to starting to scratch my nails down his back He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me on top of him so that I was straddling his lap. I felt him begin to slide his left hand up my right thigh. He then slid both of his hands up my dress and began to pull it over my head, but then he suddenly stopped at my waist.

"You don't have anyone else, do you?" Andrei asked me. "We can stop, if you need to."

My first thought was _what a nice person you are, giving me an out like that._ However, if I was so willing to do this, and if I kept on thinking about how Collin never did this or that, then did I really have anyone?

I sighed, a little sad at the thought that I knew I'd be breaking up with Collin tomorrow. If it's so easy to cheat, then we didn't need to be together. "No…no there isn't," I told him. I pushed a stray stand of hair behind my ear. "There isn't anyone anymore."

Andrei smiled, and continued to pull my dress over my head. Now all that I was wearing was my underwear, which was not more than a black thong and those stupid heels that Kelly and Janice made me wear. _Thank God, Kelly made me wear a thong,_ I thought. I reached down to start to untie the shoes (they laced up my leg and tied below the knee), but Andrei reached to stop me. "Don't. I like them on."

I shrugged, then wrapped my arms around his neck. "Whatever turns you on, Andrei," I said, and then a part of me wanted to run away at such a stupid comment.

Either way, the comment made Andrei laugh. His laugh was deep and booming, just like his very sexy voice. "I like you, Sarah," he said. I loved the way my name sounded when he said it.

"Well, I hope that it's just not for my shoes," I joked. In response to that, he pulled me close to him and began to kiss me again. I ran my hands down his chest, trying to make this up as I went along. When my fingers reached the top of his pants, I started to try to undo them. My hands were shaking a little, but I managed to undo them after a few extra seconds.

I slid off his lap so that he could remove his pants. He did so and I slid off my underwear. Naked, I sat back down on the couch. He saw down beside me. I lay back on the couch and he got on top of me. When he entered me, I guess he saw me wince, because he asked me, "Are you ok?"

"I'm ok," I told him. "Keep going." He started to trust slowly at first, building up a rhythm. It quickly stopped hurting, and it started feeling good. **_REALLY_** good. He started going faster. I started moaning, and so did he. My eyes began to roll into the back of my head. I started to clutch him. I dug m nails into his back. Then, it felt like an explosion. I gasped and my head jerked back.

I felt him release as well, and the he sat up and helped me to sit up as well. He looked over at e. I was still gasping for breath, but smiling a little, too. After I caught me breath, he asked me, "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing good," I said, looking back at him. "Very good. How are you doing?"

He smiled back at me. "I'm doing fantastic." He stood up and began to redress himself. I began to do the same. "Would you like to get something to eat?" he asked me.

"Yeah," I replied, slipping back into my dress. (Kelly was never getting this dress back.) We quickly agreed to go to a Waffle House near this club, and soon we were on our merry way.

When we arrived at the restaurant, it was around one thirty in the morning. The place was mostly filed with college students (no one that I knew), and a few truckers. The atmosphere was about what one could expect: over lit, a little dingy and dirty, and a good bit of smokers.

We sat in the non-smoking section (although it still smelled like smoke), and a waitress that looked like she had been working there for thirty or forty years, took our orders. I ordered a ham and cheese omelet with a waffle, and Andrei ordered steak and eggs.

As we waited for our food, we began to tell each other…well, our life stories. I told him about my family: Catholic, three brothers and one other sister. I was a middle child, with one of my brothers, Robert William Jr. (Billy), married and living in Seattle, a brother and sister, Zachary Walker, and Mary Louise, still living at home with my parents in Renton, WA, and another brother, James Michael, getting his Ph.D. in Portland.

Andrei was the only child of his parents who emigrated from a small town in Russia (more a village, really). His parents only ever spoke Russian to him, so enrolling in school was a complete culture shock to him. (That's also, why he has such a strong accent.) His parents were Russian Orthodox (kind of like Catholic but not really) but he had converted to Hinduism when he was fifteen. He went to the same college that I did, but since it was so big, we had never seen each other.

"It's fate, I guess," I said while sipping on my third cup of coffee. "He, what time is it?"

Andrei looked at his watch and laughed. "It's almost four a.m."

"Oh god and I have class tomorrow, or today," I replied and giggled. "I don't want to cut the night short, but I need to go home. I had no idea it was so late."

"Ok, I'll take you home," Andrei said, then reached across the table and held my hand, "but I'd like to see you again, if you don't mind."

I very quickly reached for my purse beside me (nearly knocking over my coffee in the process) and got a pen. I wrote down my cell phone number on a napkin and passed him the napkin across the table. "Just give me a call when you get the chance, and we can get together and do something."

Uhg…I am _so_ not smooth.

He took the napkin from me. He then paid the bill and we went back outside to his car, and I couldn't help but think, _if cheating is this easy, then I **REALLY** need to break up with Collin, like, tomorrow._

Andrei dropped me back off at my dorm room (with a goodnight kiss) and I almost floated upstairs to my dorm room. Neither Kelly or Janice were there, so I took another shower (I was covered with sweat) put on pajamas, and got ready for what would be my five hours of sleep, if I was lucky. Just as I was turning out the overhead light, something very **STRONG** grabbed me from behind in some kind of bear hug. I tried to get away, but I could not. Then it bit me! On the neck! It hurt, but, and this is the weird part, then it felt somewhat…good.

Then everything went black.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

When I woke up, at first I thought that I had had a nightmare. I was lying in my bed, and all of the lights were out. I looked at my alarm, and it said five-fifteen. I turned on the lamp beside my bed, and I saw two things that made me scream, "Jesus Christ!"

The first thing was one of my teachers, Millie Everet, sitting on Janice's bed, looking very sad. She was my Victorian Literature teacher, a night class that I took.

However, she wasn't what made me scream.

That honor belongs to this…thing…that was laid out on the floor. It looked like someone with a combination of smallpox and leprosy, with boils all over its body. It was wearing a hooded robe and it had a wooden stick shoved through its chest.

_I'm hungry. _

"I had it all planned out, too," Millie said softly. "It wasn't supposed to be this…gruff."

I had backed into a corner after seeing that thing, and I didn't plan on moving. "What's going on, Millie, and what the hell is that?"

She looked down at it. "That is a very long story, Sarah." She stood up. "I'm going to need you to pack a few things and come with me. You can't stay here. I'll explain everything to you shortly."

I started to pack some clothing and things into a suitcase (the largest one I had), while Millie picked up the thing like it was made of air. "I'll be back shortly. I need to dispose of him."

As she walked out the door, all I could think was, _What the fuck?_ Using the f-word was a good indicator of how confused I was, or maybe terrified. That sounds right as well.

_I'm really hungry. _

Millie quickly came back to my room and helped me to finish packing. She seemed to want me to pack as much as I could. She led me down to her car and we quickly left the dorm. The only thing that I could think about was, _What did she do with that body?_ I am not sure that I want to know. As she sped through the streets, I asked her, "So, what is going on?"

Millie kept her eyes on the road and sighed. "I had everything planned for you. Your embrace was supposed to be something special. You are a very special girl, Sarah. You write beautifully, but you seemed to be destined to be a housewife for a former football player. I wanted something better for you."

"I was actually going to break up with him tomorrow," I replied while I looked out the window. It had started to rain and I was watching the rain drops drip down the window. "I was thinking that maybe I needed some time to enjoy my youth and being single before I graduated next year."

"And now you can have for all of eternity to perfect your art," Millie said softly. "I wanted to explain everything to you before this happened, but it's not worth crying over spilt milk. We can still make the best of this."

"The best of what?" I asked. Then I realized the "eternity" part. "What do you mean by 'eternity'?"

"My dear, maybe we should wait until we arrive at my house before we discuss this," Millie said.

I started to panic. "No, NO! You brought up eternity! Now you're going to tell me what that means! You're making it sound like I'm going to live forever or something," I started laughing hysterically. "What am I? A vampire or something?" When she didn't laugh with me, I stopped. I reached up to my neck where the thing had bitten me. "That thing…it hurt me, didn't it?"

We had just reached Millie's home. "Darling, I wanted to tell you ever since I met you. I knew you were special when I read your writings. I wanted to preserve you forever," she said as she got out of the car. "Come inside and let's get more comfortable."

"I'll go inside, but 'comfort' is the last thing on my mind right now," I said and got out of the car. My first instinct was to RUN, but I did not think it would help me, and it might hurt me, big time. I wanted to cry and scream, but…goddamnit I'm HUNGRY!

Millie helped me with my bags and, after we had put them away in a room, we went back to the kitchen. While doing this, I kept thinking back to when I first met Millie. She had interviewed me when I had applied to the college, and she kept praising me for my entrance essay. I can't remember anymore what I wrote about, but she had loved it. She was the one to convince me to be a creative writing major. I remember how much Collin thought that it was a stupid thing to major in. It wasn't "practical." I remember telling him that it didn't matter anyway, because he would be making the money. At best, I wanted to teach school. That stopped the argument.

Millie and I sat in the kitchen, and I asked her what had happened in the dorm room. "Well, Trogdolah had followed you home."

"Who's Trogdolah?" I asked.

"She was the thing that attacked you," Millie replied. "People of her clan sometimes attack beautiful people such as you out of spite. They hate to see beauty, so they try to destroy it."

"I'm not going to turn into that, am I?" I asked.

"No, I stopped her before she could embrace you, but you would have died if I hadn't intervened. I couldn't let that happen," Millie said. "I'll just have to explain to the Prince what happened. I had the permission to embrace you, but this wasn't supposed to be the time."

"The Prince of what, England?" I asked.

Millie laughed for the first time of the night. "My dear, there's a lot for you to learn," she said. "But I'm sure that he wishes he was the prince of all of England. He is the ruler of all of the Kindred, or vampires, of Seattle. Think of him as an autocrat; what he says goes."

Millie laughed again. She has such a lovely voice. She sounds like Scarlette O'Hara, a true southern bell. "Then again, he is supposed to listen to his Primogen, or his council. Each one of the clans of the Camarilla has a representative. I am a representative of Clan Toreador, which you are now a member of."

"What's a clan?" I asked her.

"A clan is similar to a family. Each clan shares three common disciplines, which are vampire powers. Each clan also shares a common weakness, which ours is a weakness for beauty. Even a sunrise can capture the heart of a Toreador, but that's a deadly beauty."

"So, sunlight is bad. That rumor is true?" I asked. "What else is right and wrong?"

"That's true, you need to know these things now," Millie said. "Yes, sunlight will make you burn. In addition, fire will quickly kill you. Other weaknesses are decapitation and stakes. A stake through the heart won't kill you, but it will paralyze you, and then all you can do is watch while someone chops off your head or sets you aflame."

"So, I don't have to sleep in the dirt or avoid mirrors?" I asked.

"My goodness, no! Only vulgar creatures would do such a thing!" Millie exclaimed, horrified. "There's so much for you to learn. This isn't "Dracula" my dear." She took a second to compose herself. "You must be hungry. Where are my manners? Let me get you something."

She stood up and walked to her refrigerator. She opened it, removed a bottle of liquid, and quickly closed it. She reached into a cabinet and retrieved two wine glasses and came back to the table. She poured the liquid into the two glasses and passed me one. Before I could stop myself, I hastily gulped it down. It tasted…rich, smooth…, and salty. It was very salty.

_Oh God,_ I thought, _I just drank blood!_ I almost threw it back up. I managed to choke down a gag. "Oh God, what did I just do?" I whispered to myself. I was doing my best to choke back my tears so that I wouldn't cry in front of Millie.

"It's alright, dear," Millie said, stroking my hair. "Almost everyone has that reaction the first time. Only the vulgar ones without any humanity in the first place truly enjoy it."

"Do I have to kill people to live like this?" I asked.

"No, you don't. You can think of it as a one-night stand if that makes it clearer. You can just take a sip from someone and leave him alive. Some people even enjoy it and will give to you freely," Millie told me. "Don't fret too much over it. It's a small price to pay for so much gain."

Suddenly I felt as though I would fall asleep where I was sitting. "Can I try going to sleep now?" I asked, yawning.

"Yes, of course, it's almost sunrise," Millie said. "Go on."

I got up from the table and walked upstairs to the bedroom that I had placed my bags. The room was painted a pale pink, and it almost looked like something from the Victorian Era: wooden bed and furniture, lots of lace, and even a bowl and pitcher full of water to wash your face, even though it had an adjoining bathroom. After I shut the door, I ran to the bathroom to gargle with some water to get the taste out of my mouth. I still wanted to throw up.

_Maybe I will get use to this,_ I thought. _I just wish that she had told me before I drank the stuff. _I washed my face afterwards, and then went back into the bedroom. I did not make it as far as the bed. Instead, I sat down in an armchair beside the bathroom door. I only meant to sit there for a second, but instead I fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I woke to Millie shaking me. "Dearie, dearie, wake up," she said, shaking me. "It's almost nine o'clock. You slept late."

"What…?" I asked sleepily.

"Sarah, I need you to put on your prettiest outfit that you have with you," Millie told me. "I'm taking you to an Elysium to present you to the prince. We need to be there by ten."

Millie backed up from the chair and I stood up. I looked at a clock on the dresser, and it was 8:45. "You must be a late sleeper," Millie said. "Some of us are. Now fix yourself up real pretty. First impressions can only be made once."

Millie left the room and I started going through my bags to find something nice. I had the black dress from the night before, but I did not feel that it would be appropriate for meeting a prince. I think that I managed to bring all of my clothes with me, and I finally decided on a black knee-length pencil skirt and a pale pink silk blouse. I pulled all of my hair back into a barrette and found some black pumps that would work nicely. I looked a little like I was interviewing for a job, but I figured that conservative would be the best bet tonight.

After applying some make-up (damn this pale skin), I walked out of the bedroom to find Millie. When I found her waiting in the living room, I asked her, "Is this good?"

"Darling, it's perfect," Millie told me. "Now, let's go. This is your debut. We can't be late."

Tonight the car had a driver. She was a beautiful woman named Sheralyn Ford. She had long black hair, blue eyes, and had the perfect "brick house" body. She was something called a "ghoul," which is like a vampire, but not really. I don't get it either.

Sheralyn drove us to an art gallery that Millie owned called Everet Gallery. I had been there before, but now I guess I knew why it was closed on Friday nights. Millie turned to me in the car and said, "Now wait here for me to come and get you. Let me talk to the Prince."

Millie left the car, and I was left alone with Sheralyn, who never said a word to me. I guess that she was trained not to speak. After about fifteen minutes, Millie came back. "Good news, my dear. The Prince has decided that you can stay."

"What would have happened if he didn't want me?" I asked.

"There's no need to worry about," Millie quickly pushed my worries aside. "Apparently Mikey made a childe, and some of the local Brujah and Nosferatu adopted a local riffraff. The Prince is mostly just glad that someone is bringing in someone good. Now come out of the car and come up stairs. I want everyone to meet you."

Millie led me into the building and took me to an elevator to take me to the top floor, the 14th floor. She brushed a stray hair out of my face in the elevator. "Not that I expect anything but, but do be on your best behavior tonight. I just gave the Prince a glowing report about you, and now I owe him a major boon so that I could keep you. Do make a good impression."

"I'll do my best," I said, preparing to turn on some old fashioned charm. "Just point me in the right direction." The elevator doors opened to a large white room. The walls were covered with impressionist paintings, most of them either blue or red. There were some sculptures in the middle of the room, but they just looked like lumps and rocks to me. Millie pointed to the other end of the room and said, "There he is. Prince LaCroix." I had to restrain a giggle, because they guy was my height! He was nice looking otherwise, though. He had blond hair, blue eyes, and white skin. He was wearing a suit that looked like it cost more than my parents made in a year did.

Millie quickly ushered me over to him. "My Prince, this is my new childe, Sarah Catherine." She pushed me forward (I was hiding behind her), and I did the only thing that I could think to do: I curtsied.

"Good evening, sir," I said.

"What a lovely young woman," the Prince said. He had a faint accent, maybe French. "I'm so glad to at least have some culture introduced to us tonight. I only wish that your embrace could have been more…formal."

"If circumstances would have permitted," Millie said.

"Did you take care of her?" the Prince asked.

"Yes, I did," Millie replied. "I think I will show Sarah around to everyone."

"That's a splendid idea. Introduce her to everyone. Show her the new neonates," the Prince said. "I expect you to set a good example for the other two. Considering their background, they are going to need all of the help that they can get."

"I'll do my best, sir," I said as Millie led me away. "How did I do?" I whispered to her.

"You did wonderful, darling," Millie told me. "Let me take you to the other neonates. Let's start things off slow for you." We walked towards the center of the room where a crowd of people had gathered. On the way, I was introduced to more people than I can really remember. Millie also tried to explain to me what most of the offices had been, but I don't really remember any of those either.

When we finally made it through the crowd, Millie tried to introduce me to the other neonates. The Caitiff (that's the "riffraff" that Millie was talking about) was there, but I barely noticed him. That's because next to him was Andrei!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

At first, we both just stared at each other, stunned. All other noise drained away for a few second. After what seemed like an eternity, I finally managed to stutter out, "I never thought I'd see you again."

In response, Andrei grabbed me and hugged me tight. "I'm so glad to see someone I know," he whispered. He then pulled back and asked, "Why are you all blue?"

I looked at him, confused. "What? I'm not blue,"

"Yes, you are. I can see it all around you, like a halo of light," Andrei said, moving his hands around me as he said it.

"Darling, I believe he's seeing your aura. Blue means that you're happy," Millie said from behind me. "You can do that too, when you learn. He seems to be able to do it already." Millie walked up to Andrei. "My name is Millie Everet. Sarah is my new childe. I must be on my way. I have business to attend to. See you later, darling."

Millie left and I asked, "So, what's your story? Something attacked me in my dorm room and Millie fixed it. What happened to you?"

"More or less the same. Mickey jumped me as I was going into my apartment last night," Andrei said to me.

"You two know each other?" The other guy, I think his name was Judas, asked.

Andrei and I both looked at each other. "Yeah, we know each other. We're friends," Andrei said.

"Good friends," I said and smiled. "Is anyone else creeped out just a bit by this place?"

"I can see that," Judas said. "Do you even know what family you are?"

"Yeah, I'm apparently a Toreador, whatever that really means," I said. "Don't you know?"

"Haven't a clue," Judas said. "The head of the Brujah and Nosferatu found me in a hole with someone trying to hit me with a shovel or something."

"Well, at least mine didn't go that bad," Andrei said. "I at least woke up in a hotel room. A crappy one, but a hotel room just the same." Andrei looked around for a minute. "Do either of you see the octopuses coming out of people's heads? There's only a couple, but they look crazy."

Judas and I looked at one another, which was when it occurred to me that Judas smelled like something a cat dragged in, or rolled in, but I decided to be polite and ignore it. "I don't know anything about any octopuses." Judas said. "I've got a guy I have to meet, so, do you guys want to get out of here?"

We both agreed, and we set out to leave the Elysium. We got into Andrei's car (I was in the passenger seat and Judas was in the back seat), and Judas told Andrei and me about his embrace. Apparently, someone had called his taxicab to an abandoned building, jumped him, and he woke up trying to claw his way out of a grave (which would explain his smell). Just as he was climbing out of the earth, a man stood poised to slam him with a shovel, until some other guys attacked him. He was then helped out of the grave, no shovel needed. Among these people was the leader of the Brujah, Nosferatu, and a something called a Gangrel. They declared his old life over, faked his death, and pushed his cab into a river.

Andrei then talked about his embrace. Andrei told us that he had been attacked outside of his apartment by someone called Mickey, who then kidnapped him and brought him to some crummy hotel room.

I thought I had been having a bad night.

I explained my situation as well. By the time that I was finished, we had arrived at a Waffle House near the edge of Seattle. "I've got someone to meet inside, so we should separate because I don't want to scare him too much," Judas said. Judas went in by himself, and Andrei and I followed after he went inside to get our own table. Judas had already met his "friend," so Andrei and I sat two tables away from them.

A waitress came by and we just ordered coffee this time. "So, we can't actually eat anything anymore," Andrei said. "It's weird realizing all of these things. I'm still not sure how all of this works. I didn't exactly have this explained to me."

"No sunlight, no normal food, stake in the heart only paralyzes, fire and decapitation bad," I said. "That's about all I know. That and we don't have to sleep in dirt and we have reflections in mirrors." I smiled. "'Only vulgar creatures would do that.'"

Andrei laughed. "Who said that?"

"My sire said that. I don't know exactly what that means. Maybe some people are like that," I said. "I really don't get it. I guess it is somewhat weird to sleep in dirt. I don't know about the any reflection part. Maybe some people can choose to not have a reflection. I know I have mine."

Andrei seemed distracted for a moment. "Did you hear what that Judas guy just said?" he asked me. I shook my head. "I think he just told his friend what he is!"

"Are you kidding me?" I asked and scoffed. "Even I know better than to do something like that. What is he thinking?" We were whispering this part of the conversation now. "You can hear them?"

Andrei sat there for a second, saying nothing. Then he said, "Yeah, clearly. I concentrated for a second and now it's clear. I think that you might be able to as well. Try it."

I closed my eyes for a second and tried to concentrate and focus on listening to the conversation two tables in front of me. Then suddenly, the conversation came in clearly, as if it was happening in front of me. Judas was talking to this other person, Jimmy, and asking if Jimmy would take some kind of drug and allow Judas to drink his blood! Soon after, Jimmy rose up quickly from the table, as if in anger, and stormed out of the diner. Judas jumped up and tried to follow him, but Andrei stopped him.

"What are you thinking, man?" Andrei whispered at him. "Are you crazy? I think there's some kind of rule against that."

"Don't worry about it. I've got a handle on it," Judas said, pulled away, and continued out the door. We both looked at each other, and then Andrei got up from the table and followed Judas outside, arguing with him. I placed some money on the table, with a good tip, and followed.

When I arrived outside, Andrei was pushing Judas into the car, arguing loudly with him the entire time.

"What the hell is your problem?" Judas yelled. "I was just trying to set something up with a friend. It's not like you haven't thought of it yet!"

"No, I haven't, Judas! As a matter of fact, that is the absolute last thing that has crossed my mind!" Andrei screamed. He ran around the car after shoving Judas in, jumped in the front driver's seat, and started the car. I quickly got into the passenger seat, not saying a word. Andrei pulled away from the restaurant, and started driving down the highway.

A heavy quiet hung over the car for a few seconds as Andrei drove. Both Andrei and Judas looked mad for different reasons, and I was mostly just confused as to why someone would want to pay someone to drink their drug-laced blood.

Just as I was pondering this, what at first sounded like a firecracker popped behind the car. All of us turned around to the noise, and saw that a black SUV was tailing us with two guys hanging out of the backseat windows, both with guns!

Another shot rang out, just barely missing the car. I screamed and sank down into the floorboard of the passenger seat. I covered my head with my hands and started to try to recite the rosary. I could not remember all of the words, even though I had recited the damn thing every Sunday of my life.

"Sarah, Sarah," Andrei said to me, trying to get my attention. I looked up meekly. "I need you to stay with me now. I need you to do something for me, Ok?" I nodded. He showed me how to load and unload a handgun of some kind. I do not remember the name. He managed to cajole me to come out of the floorboard, but I still stayed low, behind the back of the seat. Judas was already hanging out of his window on his left side, firing a gun out of it towards the SUV.

Andrei pulled himself up and out the window, while still keeping his foot on the gas pedal and still steering the wheel of the car. He fired off twelve shots in rapid succession, then handed me the gun back to reload. We did this back and forth three times, and, finally, the last shot of the third set hitting the tire of the left front side of the SUV. The car swerved and spun off the road. Andrei pulled back in and floored the gas pedal to the floor, speeding up.

"Got any more bright ideas, Judas?" Andrei asked.

"I did not know that that was going to happen!" Judas retorted.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"The guy driving the SUV was his friend, Jimmy," Andrei said quietly. "Apparently Jimmy does not like being asked if someone can suck his blood. I wonder why?"

They continued arguing, but I stopped listening because it was just repeats of 'Judas is an idiot' versus 'You just do not get it,' whatever "it" is. I just kept thinking, _Is this my new life? Near death experiences? People doing stupid things that are eventually going to get me killed? Is this what I have to look forward to?_

I was quiet for the entire trip to some hotel that may have been agreed on while I was not listening. It was some Motel 6 type of place. Judas and Andrei went inside, I suppose to get their own rooms, while I waited in the car. I was too wrapped up in my own thoughts to care. A few minutes later, Andrei came back out to the car. He tapped on my window and asked, "Are you coming?"

In response, I only opened the door and followed him to a room. It was a typical hotel room. It had two beds, a TV, and a small bathroom. I immediately went to the bathroom and locked myself in. I did not really feel like talking to anyone now. I took a good, hard look at myself in the bathroom mirror over the sink. I was looking for any minute difference in how I looked tonight and how I looked yesterday. I was a little bit paler, but I still was not as pale as Millie was, or even as Judas was. I still had a little bit of color in my cheeks. I opened my mouth to examine my teeth. I did have fangs, two little pointy teeth where my canine teeth are/were. While looking at myself, I could not help but wonder, _If I hadn't gone out last night, would I be like this now? Maybe I could have just gone on with my life. Collin may not have been exciting, but he could have been stable. Stable is good, right? _I turned away from the mirror, now facing the left of the room where the little towel rack was. _Maybe if I had just been a "good" girl and stayed home I could still be normal. Am I going to be chased by cars with angry gunmen every night for the rest of my life?_ I started to cry a little. I turned back to the mirror for a second and noticed that, instead of normal tears, I was crying tears that smelled and looked like they were blood. _Am I some kind of freak now? I cannot even cry real tears anymore! Am I just some kind of monster?_ Instead of being upset, now I was angry. I was pissed off, even! I grabbed the towel rack and pulled it off the wall with one quick yank. It came off as easily as if I had pulled a towel off the rack instead. I screamed and smashed the rack into the mirror, shattering it into a thousand pieces. It seems stupid now, but, at the time, I just wanted to break something. I felt broken, so now I wanted to destroy something else. I heard someone knocking on the door. I suppose it was Andrei, but I did not really pay attention. I slumped to the ground, beside the toilet, and there I saw I large piece of glass that had stayed intact. It was a long shard, about nine or ten inches long. It was not any wider than about two or three inches, though. I picked it up and got an insane idea. I needed to check if my blood was still normal. I do not know where the idea came from, but suddenly I had an urge to check this. I took the shard and sliced open my left wrist, to see if I could still bleed. Red, red blood started to seep out of the wound, just as I heard Andrei shout, "Get away from the door!"

Andrei kicked in the door, coming in the bathroom to see me sitting on the cold tile floor, possibly bleeding to death. "I had to check to see if a vampire could still bleed," I mumbled as Andrei stared at me, obviously stunned. I looked up at him and smirked. "Do you think that I could still bleed to death?"

That must have shocked him into action. He picked me up from off the floor, ran back into the bedroom and set me on the bed, then grabbed some towels and wrapped them around my arm to stop the bleeding. "Oh God, what did you do to yourself?" he asked softly. "You need to concentrate on it to make it go away."

_Heal myself? I can do that, too?_ I thought. "I don't want it to go away. **I **want to go away," I said, barely above a whisper.

Andrei wrapped his arms around me and started rocking us back and forth. "You can't go away. I can't do this by myself. I need you." He said.

"You don't know me. I could be the worst person in the world for all you know," I said. "I could be the reincarnation of Hitler for all you could tell."

I could hear the grin in Andrei's voice. I could also hear the tears. "I don't get that vibe from you. I can tell you're a good person. Plus, if you leave me with Judas, I'll kill him myself."

I sighed. I concentrated on the cut. Honestly, I glared at it like a dog that wet the carpet. After a few seconds, the cut closed up on its own. "That's really weird to watch," I mumbled. "Well, now I guess you're stuck with me, Andrei."

"I can live with that," Andrei said.


End file.
